Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Different Strokes.

This week I had the strange experience of being the only audience member I knew. This was at a lecture venue where, in the past, I have been concerned that I knew too many people and was therefore too close to the online echo-chamber.

Those often brilliant lectures have tended to be about neuroscience, social networks and anthropology. Marketing-related individuals know this to be the latest seam of official knowledge that must be mined for sound-bites and hence I've had no shortage of company in the bar afterwards.

The marketer-free lecture was a discussion of comedy and featured the writers and producers of some of the biggest TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic. I couldn't understand why I was alone. Sure, there was no mention of brain chemistry, but apart from being a fan, it seemed obvious to me that comedy can tell us so much about cultural landscapes, concise communication and connecting with people.

Confirmation came from Caryn Mandabach (producer of The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Third Rock From The Sun, Nurse Jackie etc) who was asked about her creative philosophy. Her response? Look around, see what's not there and then make that.

It's smart to follow an intelligent group, but discovery more often occurs when you don't follow the pack. You also get to talk to new people in the bar. Try it.

5 Comments:

You've got me coming back to this again and again. Are we going off the boil. There was a time when the blogs were alive with ideas and now it feels a bit like an echo chamber with the latest iPhone/iPad app/quote/link replacing quality thinking.

I know what you mean Charles. My blogging frequency has ebbed precisely because I don't want to feature fads and I don't want to repeat myself.

On a positive note, I think we should accept that good content is rare because it's good; and that perhaps blogging is evolving even more than before into smaller groups of likeminds who are forming alliances formally and informally and that the interesting debates that occur in comemnts sections are only the tip of what's happening in the back channel.

Blogs are a platform for bringing people together I think that's quite substantial.

I never know anyone at conferences, I'm the shy bald chap at the back nursing a cup of tea, pretending to talk on the mobile.Quite right about blogging, it's all getting a bit dull isn't it?There's only so much to be said I guess. However, I think density of posts is better than little and often, you just don't know what people will find interesting.It's usually little do with the 'craft'